Skin isn’t the only thing that needs to be protected and cared for in the winter; your hair can be just as damaged from the extremes of weather and environment, and needs extra care too. Just like skin, hair can become more dry and brittle during the winter months, and there are steps you can take to prevent wintertime hair blues.
Limit your shampooing to just a few times a week. Ideally, you should be able to wash your hair once a week, and just condition the rest of the time. It’s an idea that is growing more popular as we learn that harsh shampoos really aren’t that great for our hair. Rather than just making our hair clean, they can strip important oils from our hair making it brittle and dull. Extra conditioner instead of shampoo helps keep those important oils where they belong and strengthen the hair. Use a dry shampoo on the days that you just can’t stand it. Try
Klorane Shampoo Dry,
Tigi Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo, or
Ojon - Rub-Out Dry Cleanser.
Use a deep conditioning treatment every week. Set a day where you can apply it, and let it sit for a long time. Deep reconstructioning treatments do wonders for brittle, dry hair, restoring oils and moisture where they belong. A few to try are
Pantene Relaxed and Natural Breakage Defense Mask Deep Conditioning,
Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask, or my favorite,
Redken Real Control Intense Renewal.
Control your environment. Wear a hat when it’s cold outside to protect hair, and when indoors, keep your house from becoming like the Sahara by using a humidifier. Dry central heating can dry out hair as well as cause annoying static electricity. Humidifiers keep the air from becoming too dry.
Limit your use of heat tools. While perfectly flat ironed hair looks fantastic, ironing it every day can cause some wear and tear on your tresses. Try to make a blowout or an ironing last a day or two at least. And be sure to use a heat protectant when you style with heat, be it a blow dryer or a flat iron.
Most importantly? Don’t go outside with wet hair when it’s cold. The water on the hair can freeze, causing quite a bit of breakage. Always put hair up under a warm hat or make sure it is thoroughly dry before braving the cold weather.
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